Case



G. RosENBl-:RG

CASE

v Feb. 7, 1939.

Filed June 17, 1938 Patented Feb. 7, 1939 UNITED STATESv PATENT vOFFICECASEv George Rosenberg, New Rochelle, N. Y. Application June 17, 1938,Serial No. 214,190

s clame. (c1. 15o-2s) This invention relates to cases. or containers,more especially for personal use, as for a cigarette case, ladyshandbag, or like.

The primar'y object of my invention is to generally improve cases ofthis character, and more particularly cases made almost wholly of ailexibl-e material such as leather, imitation leather, fabric, or thelike. A more particular object resides in the provision of such a casewhich Will hold its shape well over long-continued use.

Other objects of my inventio-n are to simplify the assembly of the case;to cheapen the cost of manufacture of the same; to improve theappearance of the case by the addition of simulated ornamental metallicedges; and to utilize these metallic edges not merely as ornamentation,but also as important structural parts of the case for holding the partsofthe same in desired relation. Ornamental metallic corners or beadsare' frequently employed solely for ornamentation, but often becomeloose and fall off, and considered in this aspect, an object o-f thepresent invention is to so secure ornamental metallic beads to the casethat they cannot fall off.

Further objects are to minimize the number of parts required and thenumber of operations needed to make and assemble the case; to provide alining for the exterior material of the case with a minimum of labor andexpense; and to provide a readily openable closure and means to hold thesame in normally closed position, all Without appreciably complicatingthe structure of the case. Still another object is to devise a cigarettecase embodying the features and advantages of the invention, and in thisconnection one object of the invention is to so design the cigarettecase that it will effectively protect the cigarettes against damage eventhough the case is made a1- most wholly of flexible material.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as willhereinafter appear, my invention consists in the flexible and rigidmetal elements of the case and their relation one to the other, as.hereinafter lare more particularly described in the specification andsought to be defined in the claims. The specification is accompanied bya drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a cigarette case with the closure flap inopen condition to expose the cigarettes;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the case with the flap in closed position;

Fig. 3 is a perspective vie-w explanatory of the construction of theends of the case;

Fig. 4 shows the laminatedV assemblyxof .exterior and lining materialsprior to assembly with the ends of .thelcase;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section through one edge of the laminated assemblyof Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a similar View vexplanatory of a .modif5: cation;

Fig. '7 isa lhorizontal section through the end of the case prior toclosing the metal channels;

Fig. 8 is a similar View subsequent to closing the channels;

Fig. 9 is` a section through the strap ofthe case;

Fig. 10 is a section through the edge of the flap of the case;

Fig. 11 is .a vsection in the plane of the line II-II of Fig. 4; and l5Fig. 12 is a vertical section explanatory of a modification of theinvention. l

While the invention is disclosed as applied to a cigarette case, it willbe understood that thisfis by way of exempliflcation rather thanlimitation of the invention, and the features of the inventionare-applicable to other` types of case.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to Figs.Y l and 2, thecigarette case com.- prises spaced front and back walls I?. and I4 25made of a .suitable flexible material such as leather, imitationleather, fabric or lthe like. These Walls are held apart in desiredspaced relation by rigid metallic end walls I6. The end walls, however,are preferably made to closely simulate ygussets of the conventionalstitched type, and to thisrend the metal walls are curved somewhat insection, being convex inwardly, as is best 'shown in Figs. '7 and 8.Even more important, the center portion or area of the end Walls iscovered with a flexible material which may differ from, but preferablyis, the sam-e material as the exterior or covering material of the case.

The edge portions of the end walls. are bent outwardly at 'I8 and arethen reversely bent or 40 curled as is indicated at 20, thereby formingmetal channels which receive'the edges o-f the front and back walls I2and I4 of the case. These channels` may be closed and clamped tightlyagainst the edges of lthefront and back Walls, as is shown in Fig. 8,thereby locking the parts in assembled relation. Thus the end wallsfunction-not only as end walls, but also as rigid spacing means forholding the front and back walls in desired spaced relation. Themetallic end walls insure that the `case will .be maintained in shapeover long use. The exposed edge portions or channel portions of the endWalls do not detract from the appearance of the case, but onthecontrary, may be, and preferably are, vgiven ahighvpolish and a `finish5 5 simulating precious metat. They then form a distinct color contrastwith the exterior material of the case and appear to be ornamentalbeading or edging app-lied to the ends of the case solely for ornamentalpurposes and to enllch the appearance of the case.

Considering the arrangement in greater detail, the case furthercomprises a bottom wall 22 and a closure flap 24 which are preferablymade integral With the front and back walls l2 and I4. Bottom wall 22connects the front and back Wall, while the closure flap 24 is anextension of the back wall. The closure iiap may be held in normallyclosed position by inserting the flap beneath a strap 26 extendingacross the front of the case from side edge to side edge, as isindicated in Fig. 2, and also indicated by the broken line position 24'of the flap in Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig. 4, all of the walls of the case except for the endwalls, are made out of a single piece of covering material. The case ispreferably lined with a suitable lining material such as silk fabric.For this purpose a piece of the lining material is cut out which issubstantially coextensive in area with the covering material except fora small amount of marginal material used as an edge finish or hem 28.The exterior and lining materials are stitched tgether by a peripheralline of stitching 30. This also holds the hem. The construction will beevident from Fig. 5, in which the leather or other exterior coveringmaterial is indicated at 32 while the lining material is indicated at34. The edge portion 28 of the covering material is folded over onto thelining material 34 and stitched in place by the peripheral line ofstitching indicated by the dotted line 30 in Fig. 4. It will beunderstood that the laminations may be secured together in betterfashion for a higherpriced article, though at greater expense, andV thisis indicated in Fig. 6, in which it will be seen that the coveringmaterial 36 and lining material 38 are both folded inwardly and stitchedtogether, resulting in a stiffened and finished edge with no exposedhem. Any such form of edge finish may be employed with the presentinvention.

The bottom edge of the blank shown in Fig. 4 is cut away at the bottom,as is indicated at 40, this corresponding to the dropped edge or recess4i? clearly shown in Fig. l. It will be understood that this feature isof particular advantage in connection with a cigarette case because it`facilitates removal of the cigarettes. If the closure is to be held inplace by means of a strap such as the strap 2t of Figs, 1 and 2, thisstrap is preferably preliminarily secured to the blank while the latteris still in iiat condition. 'Ihis is indicated at 23 in Fig. 4, and theregular line of peripheral stitching 3U may be used to hold the ends ofstrap 26 in place. It will be understood that the strap is securedsolely at its ends, the lines of stitching 42 in Fig. 1 functioningmerely to secure the folded edges of the strap in position, as is bestshown in Fig. of the drawing.

Y To carry out the decorative scheme of the case, the edge of flap 24may have applied thereto an ornamental bead or channel 44, this beingmade with the same metal nish as the end channels, that is, simulatedgold, silver, chromium, or the like. It is also made similar indimension, thus carrying out the illusion that all of the exposed metaledges consist of such ornamental channels. The part 44 is appliedYdirectly to the metal.

over the edge of flap 24 in a manner which will be clear from inspectionof Fig. l0, the metal sides of the channel simply being clamped orclosed together to secure the channel to the flap. It will be understoodthat the part 44 may be applied to the flap either before or afterassembling the parts of the case together.

The construction of the metallic ends of the case is probably alreadyunderstood. A word may be said, however, concerning the method of addingthe covering material 46 to the ends. Strips of the covering materialmay be cemented However, it is difficult to obtain an absolutelydependable union between the leather and metal, and moreover, it isdesirable to fold the covering material inwardly about the upper edge ofthe metal end or gusset. I therefore recommend that a covering stripmore than twice the length of the end be used, and this is folded aboutthe metal, until the ends of the covering strip overlap, as is clearlyshown at 48 in Fig. 3. The ends are cemented together, and an excellentvbond is obtained. If desired, the covering material may be additionallycemented to the metal, but this is not essential. This method ofapplying the covering material has the further advantage that the insideof the case Vis devoid of exposed metal. In fact, the illusion of aleather wall with metal corner strips is so good that the detection ofthe metal end walls can be made only by destroying a part of the case. YY

It will be understood, however, that while I recommend covering of theend walls to simulate an all-leather case, it is possible to leave theend walls exposed, thus relying on contrast between the metal andcovering material over the entire area of the end Walls.

To assemble the three main parts of the case, it is merely necessary tofold the blank of Fig. 4 on fold lines 55 and 52 until the front andback walls l2 and I4 come into spaced parallel relation. A preliminarilycovered end wall is then slipped over the edgesof the front and backwalls, and the assembly is placed in a suitable die which is thenactuated to close the channels, thus changing the parts from thecondition shown in Fig. '7 to that shown in Fig. 8, and thereby securelylocking the parts in assembled relation. The opposite end wall isapplied in similar fashion. The labor for completing the case is thusminimized, for upon addition of the end walls the case is a finishedarticle ready for use. The operation of adding the end walls of thepresent case is to be contrasted with the difficult operation ofstitchingleather gussets 1n place, for it is not possible to stitch suchgussets on an ordinary sewing machine, and they must instead be stitchedon a raised machine provided with a horn or rest of special character.

The closure is formed by simply bending the blank of Fig` 4 on the foldlines 54 and 56. The case is held in desired shape because of thestiffcning influence of the metallic end walls. If desired, the'iiexiblewalls may themselves be stiliened somewhat by the use of paper orcardboard or bre inserts or fillers between the lining and coveringmaterial. This expedient is frequently resorted to when using imitationleather which is thin and more flexible than real leather would be. Ifsuch inserts are used, they are preferably omitted at the fold lines ofthe blank. Thus, referring to Figs. 4 and 1l, the flap 24 is stiiened byan insert 60; the top edge of the closure is stiiened by a narrow insertS2; and the bottom 22 is stiffened by a similar narrow insert Ell. Ifdesired, the front and back walls lli may themselves be stiffened byinserts E@ and 68 respectively, but these are not nearly as important oras necessary as the inserts di?, 62 and Sd. The inserts 62 and 64strengthen the case and protect the cigarettes against flattening of thecase at the middle, where the protection afforded by the metallic endsis least felt, while the insert EQ adds body to the flap and preventscurling thereof at the end. An appreciable space, say of an inch, isleft between the inserts at the fold lines 50, 52, 54 and 56, thusmaintaining the desired maximum flexibility at these points.

The invention is not limited to a cigarette case| and may be applied tocases intended for a variety of special purposes, as for example, amanicuring set, a safety razor kit, or in somewhat larger size, as aladys handbag. For the latter, purpose, the distance between the frontand rear Walls may be substantial, say, 11/2 or 2 inches. The metallicend walls are readily increased to the desired Width. However, somedifculty may arise due to a slight sagging of the bottom wall 22 awayfrom the lower extremities of the metal walls. The possibility of escapeof tiny articles, coins or the like, at these lower corners may beavoided by providing upwardly turned aps or angle pieces for thecorners. Referring to Fig. 4, the piece 1t may be formed integrally withthe main blank, it projecting outwardly at the part corresponding to thebottom wall 22. However, in order to avoid excessive waste of material,the part 'l0 is preferably formed out of aseparate piece of materialstitched to the blank, as is indicated at the other side of the blankshown in Fig. 4. Thus the part 'l2 is an outward extension of an innerpart 14 which is stitched to the blank by a rectangular line ofstitching 16.

It will be understood that when the ends are being assembled to theflexible walls of the case, the parts 'l0 or 12 are turned upwardlyinside the end walls, as is best shown in Fig. l2. If desired, theupwardly turned part may be cemented to the inside of the end wall, thuspreventing it from being turned down away from the end wall during useof the case.

In respect to the stiffening or filling pieces, it may be mentioned thatthe stiif, narrow pieces 62 and 64 are preferably held in position bybeing cemented on both sides, that is, to both the exterior coveringmaterial of the case and the inner lining material. The insert orstiffening piece 60 is preferably cemented on only one side, that is, tothe exterior of the case, so that the silk or other lining will besomewhat movable and feel and act as a free lining. The reason thenarrow inserts 62 and 64 are preferably cemented to the lining as wellas the leather or outside material is to prevent the lining from bulginginwardly excessively due to the folds 54 and 56 being located so closelytogether. By cementing the lining material to the strip 62, for example,the loose lining material at the actual fold lines 54 and 56 is keptneatly confined to the actual location of the fold or bend.

It is believed that the construction and the method of manufacture andassembly of my improved case, as well as the many advantages thereof,will be apparent from the foregoing description. The case is of the softtype, being made almost wholly of exible material, yet it holds itsshape even after long-continued use.

The case is made of a minimum number of parts and is assembled with aminimum amount of labor. It is notv only inexpensive to manufacture andassemble, but the appearance of the case is greatly improved' andenriched by the exposed metallic edges or beads which appear to beapplied solely for ornamentation, although actually fullling importantfunctions heretofore described. The exposed metal beads, if consideredsolely as ornamentation, have the importantV advantage of being securelyapplied, for they are integral with the ends of the case.

It will be apparent that while I have shown and described my inventionin a preferred form, many changes and modications may be made in thestructure disclosed without departing from the Spirit of the inventiondefined in the following claims.

I claim:

l. A case comprising front and back walls connected by a bottom wall,end walls securing said front and back walls in spaced parallelrelation, said walls other than the end Walls being made of flexiblematerial and said end walls being made of metal, said end walls havingchannels at the side edges only and receiving the edges of the front andback walls, and flexible material covering the outer faces of the endwalls except for the channel portions, the lower portions o-f saidflexible material folded about the lower edges-of the end walls andsecured to the inside of the case, whereby the channel portions aloneare exposed to simulate ornamental metallic beads applied to the cornersof a flexible case.

2. A case comprising front and back walls connected by a bottom wall, aclosure flap extending from the back wall, means on the front wall forholding the closure flap in closed position, end walls securing saidfront and back walls in spaced parallel relation, said walls other thanthe end walls being made of flexible material and said end walls beingmade of metal, said end walls having channels at the side edges only andreceiving the edges of the front and back walls, flexible materialcovering the outer faces of the end walls except for the kchannelportions, the lower portions of said flexible material folded about thelower edges of the end walls and secured to the inside of the case,whereby the channel portions alone are exposed to simulate ornamentalmetallic beads applied to the corners of a flexible case, and the freeend of the closure flap being provided with an ornamental metallic beadclamped thereon to heighten the illusion of the corners being mereornamental beads.

3. A case comprising front and back walls connected by a bottom wall,said walls being made of flexible material, a piece `of lining materialsecured to the inner face of `said walls to form a laminated structure,a strip of stiffening material disposed between the lamination at thebottom wall, metallic end walls securing said front and back walls inspaced parallel relation, said end walls having channels at the sideedges only and receiving the edges of the front and back walls, andvflexible material covering the outer faces of the end walls except forthe channel portions, the lower portions of said exible material foldedabout the lower edges of the end walls and secured to the inside of theoase, whereby the channel portions alone are exposed to simulateornamental metallic beads applied to the corners of a flexible case.

GEORGE ROSENBERG.

